


But You Named Me Gohan

by WinchesterWarrenSon



Series: But You Named Me Gohan [1]
Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Developmentally Disabled Son Goku, Gen, Past Child Abuse, Past Sexual Abuse, Pedophilia, Rape Recovery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-28
Updated: 2015-04-01
Packaged: 2018-03-20 01:38:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3631788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WinchesterWarrenSon/pseuds/WinchesterWarrenSon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Originally submitted to ShirePower's tumblr. Set in-between Future Trunks informing Goku of the heart virus and the actual arrival of the androids. Young Gohan finds graphic photographs under the floorboards from when Goku was a little boy and Grandpa Gohan was still alive. He doesn't understand why his father named him after a pedophile. Things get more complicated and stressful when the family gets a visit from someone from Otherworld. (Fic focuses on the effects of child sexual abuse and the relationship between victim and abuser, not on the abuse itself, though it is referenced and implied as to its exact nature.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [PickleandtheQueen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PickleandtheQueen/gifts).



Finding the photos had been an accident. He hadn’t even known that they were there at all, and he regretted finding them the moment he understood what it was he was looking at. He had just wondered why the floor board had been so squeaky….

Underneath the floor board had been a box. This box was full of photos. Photos of his father, when he was Gohan’s age, maybe even younger. The nine-year-old really didn’t know what to do with this when he found it. But he had never seen anything like what was in these photos, and his stomach was turning up in knots as he tried to get himself to just look away from them. Only some kind of morbid curiosity - or dread or denial or something - kept him looking at them. But there were too many pictures in the box, and it was all too graphic and horrible to look at without wanting to vomit.

He heard about this kind of thing on the TV and in books - Mom would turn the TV off or change the channel when she saw that he was there. Her way of protecting him. But sometimes Gohan would be researching something on his own and it would pop up as part of someone’s biography or history. But it never put it into words exactly what it was or what had happened. Just the words “and so-and-so was a pedophilia survivor” or similar-sounding stuff. And he knew _what_ it was….

But this was so much different from just being told about it from another source. This was … .

Gohan dropped the photos back into the box and just left it where it was and covered it back up with the floor board. He tried to just forget about it - what would he even say if he tried to ask about it, anyway? But his stomach kept knotting itself up, and it was as though the images of Goku getting his mouth pried open or his hands being pinned above his head were seared into his retinas. It even felt as though that whole floor was cursed or something…. And Gohan could recognize what areas of the house the photos had been taken in. It started to consume his thoughts whenever he was given a moment’s chance to breathe. And throwing himself into his studies or training only worked so much….

He didn’t know what he was going to do with it, but he pulled it back out from under the floor board and … held onto it.

He considered destroying them. Started to do so, too. But questions as to why, why did this happen, why were they under the floor, plagued his mind. And he knew that he wouldn’t be able to speak up and ask….

He didn’t look at them at all since the first time he opened it, but he knew that … that he’d need them in order to talk to Goku….

But when? They were training to fight the androids….

And he couldn’t just leave them lying around. That would make things astronomically worse…. Gohan’s solution was to stuff the box into a backpack until he knew what to do with them.

Unfortunately, that hadn’t been as good an idea as Gohan had thought.

Chichi had grabbed the backpack and stuffed a bunch of Gohan’s school books into it, not realizing that it had a box inside of it at all, and brought it with them as Goku, Piccolo, and Gohan took a break from training to help Chichi with shopping and have a day out and about. Gohan’s eyes widened as he recognized that it was THE backpack and was in a perpetual state of anxiety throughout the entire outing.

Piccolo was in general very uncomfortable with being out of his element, even when they finally stopped for food. This was probably Piccolo’s first time in a restaurant, but Gohan couldn’t spare any effort to entertain thoughts about how amusing this could be or to feel bad for the Namekian. He was terrified of what might happen with the box.

Chichi was saying something about Gohan doing school work while they waited for the food because “with all your training, he hasn’t had proper time to study” (to which Goku replied, “And studying during lunch is the proper time?” and was thus ignored). As she spoke, she unzipped Gohan’s backpack and started pulling out books. Her eyebrows rose when she saw the box, and she carefully pulled it out.

Gohan’s eyes immediately went to Goku as she did so (remarking, “Where’d this come from?”). Goku’s eyes widened with recognition, but the man didn’t move or say anything.

Chichi set it on the table, then continued to dig around in the bag for Gohan’s books.

If Dad recognized the box, did that mean he knew it was under the floor … ?

Goku didn’t do or say anything about the box for a while. But his eyes didn’t leave it or Chichi the entire time Chichi pulled books out and gave them to Gohan. Gohan took them, but his attention was really on Goku.

The box was perched precariously on the edge of the table, and with each movement towards Gohan, Chichi’s arm shifted the box ever closer to toppling over the edge. Chichi made sure Gohan had a highlighter and a pen and notebook to take notes in. The box shifted more.

Gohan reached out to push the box back onto the table so at least it wouldn’t fall and spill its contents all over the floor, scarring everyone in the area for life, but between that movement and Chichi moving the backpack so that it could go back onto the floor, the box took a dive for the floor.

Gohan tried to grab it, but it vanished before he could do so. It was barely noticeable, but Goku had quickly - blink-and-you-miss-it quickly - moved from his seat to catch the box and went right back to where he had been. A soft “plop” reached Gohan’s ears, and he looked under the table to see that Goku had put the box right underneath his foot.

Chichi seemed to be having some trouble figuring out what happened or where the box went (or if she had imagined the box entirely), but Piccolo had been able to follow what had happened and was looking at Goku curiously.

Goku showed no other reaction to the box or the fact that it had been in Gohan’s backpack. He carried it under his arm the rest of the day until they got back home. Goku then took the box somewhere, and Gohan had no idea where he had put it as he went about the day, actually choosing to help Chichi with chores for once and Piccolo mediated in the meantime. It gave Gohan time to study, but he couldn’t concentrate.

Eventually, Goku came over to him and sat beside him. Gohan looked over at him and saw that the man wasn’t actually looking at him.

"How’d you find it?" Goku asked quietly. Gohan could hear Chichi humming as she worked on the laundry.

"The floor was squeaking and I tried to find out why…." Gohan said.

"… Guess I should’ve thought of that."

"Huh?"

"I tried to find it. To bury him with the stupid pictures, ‘cause he liked them so much. But I couldn’t find it at all. I hadn’t thought to look in the floor."

Gohan processed the information, spoken in a low tone as to not attract attention. Though it was possible Piccolo could still hear.

"The … the person behind the camera … it was your grandfather. Wasn’t he?" 

Goku didn’t say anything at first. But he nodded to confirm. 

Gohan didn’t really know how to feel about that information. He … he shared a name with … with that … . He didn’t really want to call him a man now. Only a monster could’ve done that to a little boy. To his grandson…. 

"Why?" Gohan asked. 

"Why what?" 

"Why did you … name me after him?" 

Goku took a while to answer that one too. 

"… I might not have liked it when he’d do that…. But he was still my grandpa…. I still loved him…." 

They sat there in silence for a long moment. 

"You can change your name if you want to. Chichi wanted to name you Einstein." 

Gohan’s mouth quirked up a little at that. 

"It’s not a bad name, though," Goku added. "It’s your name, and you make it mean something good."

Gohan wasn’t sure why it was that moment that made his eyes tear up, but it did.

"I love you, Dad."

Goku ruffled Gohan’s hair.

"Love you too, son."

The conversation didn’t … make the topic go away entirely. But it started to occupy Gohan’s thoughts less until it was just another fact he knew about his dad.

That night, Goku took the box to Grandpa Gohan’s grave. He set it atop of the dirt and stood over it.

"… . I guess I got you back in the end, huh, Grandpa? You could’ve said something about me turning into a giant monkey…."

Goku lifted his hand and shot an energy blast at the box, catching it on fire.

"Kinda hard to be mad at you when you got all your bones and organs crushed…. As much as I miss you sometimes, though … I’m glad you’re not here. I’m glad … that I didn’t have to make the choice to kill you. If anyone else had gotten hurt because of you … ."

Well. It didn’t matter anymore. It was … hard for Goku to think of Grandpa as a bad man. He … knew it was bad. But Grandpa had taken care of him and taught him many things…. Knowing Grandpa had done something wrong and thinking of Grandpa as a bad man were two very different things.

But even from beyond the grave, Grandpa had hurt his son. Not in the same way, but he saw the confusion and hurt in Gohan’s eyes, and it reminded him of his own….

"You’ve done enough damage. Rest in peace and leave my family alone."

Goku then went back to the house, choosing not to engage with Piccolo, despite the fact that the Namekian had heard and seen everything, though he was no less confused for it.


	2. Part 2

Chichi had gotten them a phone for the house at some point, so it wasn’t too much of a surprise when Master Roshi called the house. What was a surprise - no matter how welcome on Goku’s end - was what Roshi was calling about.

"Hey, Goku! I’ve got one heck of a training opportunity for you and the others! I’ve already contacted the others, so just bring Piccolo and Gohan over, and we’ll be set to start!"

Chichi didn’t like the idea of her son going off yet again for unknown training things, so she insisted on tagging along and bringing Gohan’s study materials.

Master Roshi must have called Goku last, because the others were already there when they arrived. Yamcha, Tenshenhan, Chiaotzu, even Vegeta and Bulma. Though Vegeta didn’t seem to be too happy about being there, but he probably couldn’t have resisted the thought of a new training opportunity.

It was the _other_ guest in Roshi’s home that made Goku freeze in place.

"Goku! You won’t believe it! Master Roshi convinced Fortuneteller Baba to bring him!" Yamcha said.

Goku could see that. Standing in Master Roshi’s living room was Grandpa Gohan, looking the same as he had when they had met him in Baba’s tournament.

Fortuneteller Baba was drinking tea with Roshi, Oolong, Puar, and Bulma as the others interacted.

"Oh my! You sure have grown up, Goku," Grandpa said. All Goku could do was stare. His brain had gone to a complete halt.

When he last saw Grandpa, he still hadn’t really realized what his grandfather had done to him. He had kind of assumed that kind of thing happened to everybody. It was Chichi really who taught him differently. With how much she seemed to value having her first time be with someone she loved and was married to. And how she’d read the paper and find stories that sounded like Goku’s and remark on how disgusting it was that an adult would do such a thing to a child…. It was only then that Goku had started to feel uncomfortable with the memories of his grandfather, and now…. Now Grandpa was standing right in front of him, and his own son was standing by his side and -

"And who’s this little guy?" Grandpa asked.

"This is my son, Gohan," Goku answered, his voice sounding oddly detached and hesitant. "Hi, Grandpa."

Goku could tell that Gohan understood who this was now, and in the corner of his eye he could see Gohan furrowing his eyebrows and giving Grandpa a dark look. And Goku could also see Krillin, Roshi, Yamcha, and the others looking confused about their reactions, though he really couldn’t focus on them.

"Oh! You have a boy of your own now! Congratulations, Goku! And this must be his mother."

"Hello, I’m Chichi, Ox King’s daughter. It’s great to finally meet you," Chichi said, having no reason to distrust or be fearful of Gohan and greeting herself enthusiastically.

"Ah! Ox King told me he had a daughter! I’ve seen pictures of you as a child, you’ve grown up so much too!"

Grandpa shook Chichi’s hand, and a gross feeling crawled up Goku’s spine at the thought of Grandpa having pictures of Chichi too. They couldn’t have been like his own, though, so maybe it wasn’t that bad? Unless they didn’t have to be….

Piccolo’s introduction was a little interesting, in that he was clearly picking up on Gohan’s distrust of Grandpa and made as much an unfriendly greeting as he could manage while still being civil.

Grandpa’s eyes went back to Gohan for a moment before they went to Goku, and Goku knew he couldn’t let Gohan train with them.

"Is the little one a fighter, too?"

"Ye-" Krillin started to say, but Goku beat him to the punch.

"Nope! Chichi won’t let him! She wants him to be a scholar, and he loves reading! Which is exactly what he’s gonna do while keeping his mother company while we train! Right, Gohan?"

Being the smart kid that he was, Gohan knew exactly what Goku was doing, though he gave Goku a look that showed that he wasn’t one-hundred percent happy with it. But he also couldn’t seem to think up a better plan, either.

"Right. You be careful, okay, Dad?"

"Mm-hm!"

Goku ruffled Gohan’s hair, then nudged him towards Chichi and the kitchen. Chichi just stared at Goku, clearly surprised, but she made absolutely no complaints as she picked up where Goku left off and ushered Gohan into the kitchen, already jumping into the list of assignments Gohan can do while the others trained. Gohan shot a concerned look at Goku over his shoulder, then gave Grandpa a glare as they disappeared into the kitchen.

There. One problem solved. For now.

Goku turned back and smiled at Grandpa, though it was a little forced.

"So, you’re really back to help us fight the androids?"

Grandpa nodded, and then the adults talked about the game plan for training. For a while, it would seem that it would be just fine as long as Grandpa stayed away from Gohan. There wasn’t really any need to tell anybody what had happened and what had been going through Goku’s head over the years, was there? He’d hate to disappoint Master Roshi and Yamcha and - oh fuck, what would Ox King and Chichi say if they found out? He hated the thought of their sad faces. He couldn’t do that to them…. It was bad enough he had let Gohan be sad…. Grandpa had been Ox King’s best friend, and Master Roshi their teacher, he couldn’t do that to them…. He couldn’t….

Besides, fighting wasn’t sex. Everyone wore their clothes and no one was touching each other that way, it was fine….

At least … it started out that way….

Grandpa had wanted to see what everyone’s abilities were before they started learning new techniques that Grandpa had learned in Otherworld, so there was a lot of melee free-for-all sparring before the real stuff. As kind of a warm-up. Piccolo, Vegeta, and Goku easily out-performed Yamcha, Krillin, and Tenshenhan, which left them pouting on the beach after a while as they watched.

Grandpa watched as the three of them went head-to-head against each other. Eventually he called out, “Excellent job, Goku! Good boy!”

Goku couldn’t explain it very well to himself. But when Grandpa called him a good boy, a flood of memories took hold of his thoughts, remembering times when Grandpa had called him that.

_That’s a good boy, Goku. Now swallow._

_If you’re a good boy and don’t fight me on this, I’ll let go of the tail._

_Very good, Goku. Good boy. You’re doing so well for your first time._

Goku took a really hard punch to the nose and flew down and into the ocean. But he couldn’t really feel the painful throbbing in his face as he was forced to remember just how painful “being a good boy” had been.

Above the ocean, Piccolo and Vegeta waited for Goku to re-emerge. They waited … and waited… . Piccolo frowned.

"Something’s wrong," Piccolo said, then dove into the water to go fetch Goku. Vegeta crossed his arms, then flew back to the beach.

Krillin raised an eyebrow. “He’s been acting weird all day…. You don’t think that heart virus we were warned about is already happening?”

"I think we’d know if he was having a heart attack," Yamcha said.

In the water, Piccolo found Goku and swam to his side, grabbing hold of his arm.

Telepathically, Piccolo reached out to him. “What’s wrong?”

Due to it being telepathy, Piccolo could be told what was wrong without words, though not necessarily with images either. Concepts and ideas and facts could be communicated in its purest forms with as few or as many details as desired. The box was explained. The phrase. Why it was triggering. Why Goku was having trouble bouncing back. His fears of Gohan being here in the same space as Grandpa. It wasn’t very detailed in some places but too detailed in others, and that was mostly because Goku wasn’t even aware of what exactly he was sharing with Piccolo. He was too busy remembering, and the telepathy link was open.

Piccolo pulled Goku up and out of the water, and they gasped for air. Goku looked over at Piccolo, very unsure as to what to do. Piccolo met his eyes with a serious look, then helped him swim back to the beach.

"Hey, you okay, Goku?" Krillin asked.

They climbed out of the water, and Piccolo glared daggers as Grandpa Gohan.

"We’re taking Chichi and Gohan home," Piccolo said, taking hold of Goku’s bicep and pulling him into the house.

They offered no explanations, though that didn’t stop them from trying to get one.

"Wait! Piccolo!"

"Goku!"

Master Roshi, Krillin, and Grandpa Gohan went after them. Yamcha, Tenshenhan and Chiaotzu held back, and Vegeta had no intention of investigating.

Piccolo pushed Goku into the kitchen towards Chichi and Gohan. Chichi and Gohan looked up from Gohan’s book.

"Get packed, we’re leaving," Piccolo said.

Gohan didn’t need to be told twice, and Chichi didn’t stop him, but she was clearly confused.

"What’s happening?" she asked.

Piccolo opened his mouth to answer, but Master Roshi interrupted.

"Goku! Piccolo! Just what in the heck is going on!?"

Grandpa Gohan stepped into the kitchen, and Goku grabbed Gohan’s shoulder, squeezing it tightly.

"Goku? What’s the matter? You were doing so well before, and I was hoping we could catch up."

Grandpa Gohan took another step closer, and Piccolo forcefully put himself between them. He bared his teeth at him.

"You see these fangs? They’re designed for _ripping dick off_ , and it’s exactly what I’m gonna do to yours if you come anywhere near my family, understand?”

The statement of “my” wasn’t missed, but no one mentioned anything about it for now.

Despite still being confused, Chichi held onto Goku, and Goku reached his other hand out to Piccolo’s shoulder, and they teleported back home.

Piccolo locked the doors to the house and shut the blinds. Chichi waited to ask what was going on until both Goku and Piccolo seemed to have calmed down. Goku was afraid of making her sad, but she insisted.

Chichi hugged Goku tightly after he told her, and she pulled Gohan into the hug as well.

The rest of the day was spent comforting each other on the couch and drinking tea.


	3. Part 3

Goku had been asleep at first, but something must’ve woke him up. He wasn’t entirely sure what it was, but he sat up abruptly, the cool mountain wind coming in through the window betraying the cold sweat coating his flesh.

His throat felt dry - too dry - and he quickly got up and crossed the room to the door. He headed down into the kitchen, reached the sink, then turned it on and cupped his hands under the faucet and drank from his hands.

He … he had been dreaming… . Dreaming about hands around his throat….

When he quenched his thirst, he splashed water on his face, then turned the sink off and looked up through the window.

He hadn’t been able to concentrate properly. He had never had a mental block when it came to training before, but he couldn’t seem to bring himself to do … anything that he normally did. This wasn’t good. The androids would be here and … and he wouldn’t be strong enough.

Something niggled at the back of his head as he noticed that the moon was full. A familiar tingle went through his body - and he felt his tail go rigid.

The part of his brain that would’ve questioned when his tail had grown back was shut down, and his eyes went from black to pale pink. His body throbbed and pulsed, and his mind went to another place in time….

_He was running, running away, through the shrubbery and trees. Teeth gritted and fists tight. He was so small, but he was a Saiyan. The voice recordings in the pod had made sure he knew that much. He was a Saiyan, that man was not his family, and he had to get away so he’d be safe when his parents came to get him. They loved him and wanted him to be safe._

_He was so young, barely a toddler, and he knew just as little as the man chasing him about what the moon would do._

_There were no clothes to rip as he transformed because the man had already ripped them off._

_The man was a good fighter, he could tell that much, even in his monkey form. He was powerful, despite his size. Cunning. Smarter than him._

_A good kick to the solar plexus of even such a great beast sent the Oozaru over the cliff. He fell, fell, fell, right on his head. Just barely missing the sunrise and witnessing his own transformation back. Blood oozed onto the rocks. He would’ve died without the old man._

_But the old man was why he was there in the first place._

Goku had no control over himself as he destroyed his home all over again. Gohan and Chichi awoke with a start, screaming. Piccolo flew to Chichi’s rescue and caught her before she could get hurt, then flew her away from the giant ape that was demolishing their surroundings. Gohan flew to their side.

"What’s going on!?" Gohan shouted. "Where’s Dad!?"

"I - I think that is your father!" Piccolo said.

"What!? But he doesn’t have a tail!"

"Maybe it grew back!"

"After so long?" Chichi asked.

Goku swung at his family, his consciousness very much not in the present.

_"Goku, you remember the rules. Don’t look at the full moon, and do as I say."_

_"I know, Grandpa, but do I have to? It tastes nasty."_

_"Tell you what. Do it, and I’ll give you something very tasty to snack on. And add a new technique to your training."_

_"Really!? You mean it, Grandpa?"_

_"Mm-hm!"_

_"… You’re not gonna make me choke on it again, are you?"_

Piccolo and Gohan focused on getting Chichi to a safe place, then deliberated about what to do.

"We have to cut the tail off," Piccolo said.

"Right. But how to get close without him noticing?"

As they worked on a game plan, Goku continued to destroy the house. It was already too late to save what was left. Gohan and Chichi and Goku were basically homeless now already.

The Oozaru, however, inexplicably fell to his knees and let out a howl to the moon.

_He had told Bulma he had been on his way to the bathroom when he saw the moon. That hadn’t been true. He hadn’t remembered it well, his memories were all scrambled up. He hadn’t been outside. There had been a hole in the roof from a sparring incident, and Goku could see the moon from the hole while laying on his back._

_Grandpa had been too busy with whatever he was doing on top of him to notice what was happening until Goku had turned just ape enough to have far-too-strong a grip on Grandpa’s neck and squeezed and squeezed and squeezed, his body and hands growing and growing and not letting go._

_Oozaru remembered him. Oozaru never forgets. Oozaru never forgives._

For the first time since Goku’s brain injury, Goku’s and Oozaru’s memories met and conjoined, and he cried and howled at the moon. Big, fat tears gathered in his eyes as he ceased his destruction and sat in the ruins of his home.

"Piccolo, wait…." Gohan said, holding his hand out to Piccolo to keep him from blasting Goku’s tail off.

Goku cried and cried, even after the sunrise, and howls turned into heartbroken sobs, asking “why, Grandpa, why!”

Chichi made the trek from her safe place to where Goku knelt, gently pulled him to her, and held him. Piccolo and Gohan just didn’t know what to do.

They were very unexpected guests on Bulma’s doorstep that morning.


	4. Part 4

Until they could get a new house, Goku, Chichi, Piccolo, and Gohan lived with Bulma temporarily. Which meant they got to see Yamcha and Vegeta when they got back from Master Roshi’s, and Goku was having trouble evading questions about what happened on the island. Yamcha meant well, but Goku really didn’t want to talk about it. Vegeta didn’t care, so at least Goku could train in the gravity chamber without any worries about questions.

Mrs. Briefs announced that lunch was ready, and Vegeta without a word stepped out of the gravity chamber to go eat. Goku, however, wanted to do a bit of training by himself at a gravity level that Vegeta hadn’t reached yet. So he went over to the gravity controls and adjusted the setting.

He really hadn’t been in the mood to eat today, which worried Gohan and Chichi, but he couldn’t help it or explain it.

His tail needed help getting used to being there again. It wasn’t impervious to being grabbed anymore, so he needed to strengthen it up again. He figured there wasn’t any point to cutting it off again, if it was just going to grow back. He’d just have to be careful about looking at the full moon. He only had so many clothes, after all. But … he realized he could control the form now. So at least there was that….

His tail was moving about freely as he trained (even when sparring against Vegeta), but when he felt a familiar ki signal, he paused his training abruptly and his tail curled around his waist for safety’s sake.

No…. Why…? The twenty-four hours were up…!

Goku ran from the GR and hurried into the house, where he felt the ki signal coming from. He burst through the door, accidentally scaring everyone in the kitchen (aside from Vegeta and Piccolo). He stood in the doorway, unable to make himself actually cross the threshold.

Grandpa, Fortuneteller Baba, and Master Roshi were there, Fortuneteller Baba looking at her watch and keeping track of the time.

Grandpa was closer to Gohan’s person than Goku was at all comfortable with, but Piccolo was there to act as a barrier between them. Goku was immensely thankful for Piccolo. Chichi had her hands on Gohan’s shoulders, as well.

"There you are!" Master Roshi said. "Gohan got a bit of an extension on his visit thanks to Baba. He wanted to talk to you, but you went and ran off yesterday!"

Goku recognized that Roshi wanted to admonish him, but he really, really couldn’t focus on Roshi or what he wanted to say.

"It’s all right, Master Roshi. Goku has always been doing odd things and having trouble expressing himself."

Grandpa was both giving Goku an out in explaining himself and also making it so Goku had less of a reason to actually try to explain his behavior. Both helping Goku and covering his own ass. Clever.

Goku took a deep breath.

"W-we can talk. If you want."

As long as he was far, far away from Gohan. And … dammit, he was still his grandfather. Still the man who raised him and took care of him, even if….

"Good, good! Perhaps we can talk outside? It’s a beautiful day today."

"Yeah. Sure."

Goku stepped back outside and hugged his arms to his chest. Grandpa followed him out. Goku didn’t look back at the others, but he could hear Gohan trying to follow and Chichi holding him back. None of the others followed. He heard something from Roshi about letting them catch up.

Catch up. Right.

They found one of the patio tables out in the yard that Dr. and Mrs. Briefs had scattered across the property and sat down. Goku stayed leaned back in the chair, keeping himself at a distance from Grandpa. Grandpa made himself comfortable and took no care to keep any distance, though wasn’t going out of his way to close it.

Grandpa dug through a pocket inside of his coat, then held up very familiar looking photographs.

"I wanted to thank you for sending these to me. I had really missed them."

Goku remembered the particular ones that he was holding up right then. He had sliced his tongue open from biting down too hard to try to follow the order not to cry so much, despite how much the tear had hurt down there. He focused on staring at the blood dribbling from his mouth as opposed to other spots in the photograph.

"… You’re the only one who’d ever want them, so it didn’t make sense to keep them around once I found them."

Goku felt like he didn’t have much of a choice but to be civil. He … didn’t want to be mean. Or disrespectful. And he was already dead, what much more could he do … ? And - and he wasn’t hurting anybody….

… Right?

"Oh that’s not entirely true. Had you wanted to, I bet you could’ve found someone who’d buy them from you. You were such a cute boy."

Goku felt like if he had eaten, he would’ve needed to vomit.

Grandpa turned the photographs so only he could see them, and he sifted through them, lingering on each one and talked about it, as though they were fond memories.

For him, they probably were.

Goku kept his arms crossed against his chest, watching Grandpa as he did so.

"Why are you doing this … ?" Goku asked quietly after a while.

Grandpa looked up from the photographs, then tucked them back into his shirt.

"Mostly I wanted to thank you for them. But I did want to see you. See how things were going for you. I hadn’t expected you to have a son of your own. That was a pleasant surprise. He’s not a very happy boy, though."

"He’s the one who found them. He’s angry you took them in the first place."

"Ah. And I suppose you told the green man and your wife."

"Yeah."

Grandpa sighed.

"I guess it was unavoidable, to keep it entirely a secret. But you don’t seem to have told anyone else."

"… No."

Grandpa smiled at him. “Good boy.”

Goku squeezed his eyes shut, his body tensing up.

"I’ve also heard that you took down an intergalactic warlord."

"Yeah. His name was Frieza. He destroyed the planet I originally came from. And killed the whole species, aside from me and Vegeta…."

They talked about things unrelated to the photographs for a while, then Grandpa looked at his watch and stood up.

"It seems like it’s time for me to go. I really have enjoyed catching up with you, Goku."

Goku nodded, refraining from saying how he felt about the situation at all. He didn’t really know how he felt about it, anyway….

They went back inside the house, Goku’s arms still crossed.

"I’m ready, Baba!" Grandpa said, walking towards the fortuneteller.

Something slipped out of Grandpa’s pocket, face-up. Thinking that it was one of his own photos, Goku looked down at it, aiming to grab it and keep the picture covered so the others didn’t see.

It was a photo of the same nature.

But it wasn’t Goku in the picture.

There was a halo over the kid’s head, meaning it had to have been taken after Grandpa died.

That Goku wasn’t the only one, and these kids were being put through this after death.

Goku’s rage couldn’t be contained, and it exploded before he really knew what he was going to do about it. His Super Saiyan stage exploded through his veins, his aura sparkling all around him, hair standing up and turning blonde, the power pushing objects against the others and the walls.

Rage blinded him until he and Grandpa had already gone through the wall, a punch having gone to Grandpa’s jaw and Goku flying after him to finish him off.

He couldn’t let him hurt anyone else. He wouldn’t.

Grandpa did fight back, but there was very little he could do to a Super Saiyan. Goku was immensely stronger than him now. There was nothing anyone could’ve done to stop him, not at any of their power levels. And Vegeta, Gohan, and Piccolo didn’t even want to try.

With the finishing energy blast, Goku shouted, “I’M NOT YOUR GOOD BOY _ANYMORE_!”

There wasn’t anything left of Grandpa when he was done. Just his blood on his hands from when he had punched him in the face and his jaw and nose broke into bone shards and bloody flesh.

Goku took some time to calm down, let himself power down, before he went back towards the house. An apology for destroying Bulma’s wall died in his throat as he saw that his own photos had fallen out of Grandpa’s coat when he had punched him, and they were scattered over the kitchen floor. It wasn’t just Goku’s either, there were children Goku had never met or seen before in the pictures as well. Chichi was covering both her own and Gohan’s eyes, and Bulma looked like she was about to cry. Yamcha couldn’t look at them, and Vegeta looked disgusted.

"Goku," Baba said, and Goku turned his head to look at her. "I’m so sorry, had I had known, I would have never - !"

Goku gave her a soft smile. “It’s okay, Baba.”

"No it’s not!" Bulma cried out, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Why didn’t you tell anybody!?"

"He was already dead when I realized what he did was bad, Bulma. I didn’t … see a reason to."

"Oh Goku…."

Bulma went up to him and hugged him. Goku hugged her back. Something about the hug felt different. Bulma seemed to be putting on a little bit of weight around the middle.

They burned the photos together, and the Son family continued to live with the Briefs for a while until Bulma picked them out a new house capsule for them (on the house, she had said).

Word had gotten about what happened in the Otherworld. Children and former children alike found each other when they learned there really were others like them, and they came together to give them their strength and comfort.

For a while at least, everything was safe again. And in the end, Gohan kept his name as it was. It was his name now, and he would make it mean something good.


End file.
